'Hardcore Bitches' – A Look At The Badass Women We Can't Get Enough Of [Editorial]

Jul 18 2012

It’s true, there’s just something irresistible about a woman in power. From the iconic female leads of Hollywood to women that can actually kick ass in a ring, there’s no denying our fascination with badass chicks.

¡MAYDAY!’s “Hardcore Bitches” from their Strange Music debut, Take Me To Your Leader, paid tribute to these sexy and independent women of the world and served as an anthem of sorts for empowered ladies everywhere. More than just an ode to tattooed pin-up girls, “Hardcore Bitches” really drove it home – it’s not a man’s world after all.

Inspired by the recent “Hardcore Bitches” music video, we decided to compile a list of our all-time favorite female badasses. Whether it was through film, modeling, or sports, these ladies have that special hardcore edge we just can’t get enough of.

Katey Sagal

As the female lead on FX’s hit show, Sons Of Anarchy, Katey Sagal portrays the absolutely merciless Gemma Teller Morrow. You may also recognize her from her breakout role as Peggy on Married With Children or as the voice of Leela on Futurama, but it’s her role as Gemma that really earns her a place on this list. Queen bee of the pack, she protects her family at all costs and has taken plenty of falls only to still be standing at the end of it all. Decked out in leather and usually packing, you don’t want to cross the first lady of SAMCRO.

Michelle Rodriguez

A mainstay on the big screen, Michelle Rodriguez has played more tough as nails characters than we can count. From roles in Resident Evil, Machete, and a recurring spot in The Fast And The Furious franchise, Michelle Rodriguez continues to hold it down for independent women without a single regret

“I’m here to entertain people and make a statement about female empowerment and strength and that’s what I’ve done for the last 10 years, and people can call it typecast, but I pigeonholed myself and I put myself in that box for saying no to everything else that came on my plate.”

You have to admire a woman that can tote a gun can still look good in heels.

Jean Grae

We admit it, women that can actually rhyme are dead sexy. In this case, Jean Grae not only rhymes well, she does it better than a lot of her male counterparts. Not to mention she took the name Jean Grae as a nod to Jean Grey of the X-Men. Yeah, she’s THAT cool. Even with a lengthy absence from music, Jean Grae still came back sharp as ever.

Did we mention she’s held her own with the likes of Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique, Atmosphere, and Joell Ortiz?

Ronda Rousey

If that picture alone isn’t enough to land Ronda Rousey a spot on this list, then we don’t know what is. Just in case though, let’s take a look at her credentials. As an MMA fighter, she is the current Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight champion with zero losses on her record and is #1 in several different MMA rankings. Add to that the fact that she likes to talk trash, and she is one mean fighting machine who excels in Judo.

We certainly wouldn’t think of standing her up.

Scarlett Johansson

Most men have had Scarlett Johansson on their radar for years, but it wasn’t until she entered the Marvel Universe as Black Widow that she really stepped into the realm of dominant females. The leather-clad actress kicked ass in 2012 in the blockbuster film, The Avengers, as a Russian super-spy.

If you caught the film in 3-D, you might know why we had to include her.

Angelina Jolie

Before cleaning up her image as a humanitarian, Angelina Jolie was the poster child for wild, sexy, and outrageous celebrity behavior. She turned up the sex appeal even more when she landed the role of Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider film adaptations. In recent years, she’s fought her way through roles in Wanted and Salt. She’s also been named Hollywood’s highest-paid actress on two separate occasions.

Guns? Tattoos? Ridiculously hot? Check, check, and check.

Milla Jovovich

She’s been dubbed the “reigning queen of kick-butt”.Milla Jovovich forever imprinted herself in our minds with her role in The Fifth Element as Leeloo and even got a shout-out from Tech N9ne on Prozak’s “Bodies Fall”. She followed her success in The Fifth Element by taking up the lead role in the Resident Evil franchise as Alice, thus becoming a female icon in the sci-fi/horror community.

Zombies and aliens. More please.

Sigourney Weaver

Speaking of icons. Long before Angelina Jolie and Mila Jovovich reached for their guns, there was one actress battling blood-thirsty aliens on the big screen AND gettting Academy Award nominations for it. Sigourney Weaver, “the sci-fi queen”, is best known to fans as Ellen Ripley from the Alien series.

In many ways the OG of Hollywood Bad B@#!@es, her role in Alien forever changed the way Hollywood viewed females in starring roles and we would gladly watch her stomp out face-huggers all day.

Linda Hamilton

When you go toe to toe with Skynet, you earn a few stripes. Linda Hamilton will forever be remembered as Sarah Connor from the Terminator franchise, the one who started it all when it came to the revolution against the machines. Shooting guns half her size and equipped with a killer instinct, she was the ultimate weapon in the fight for humanity.

We still remember that pull-up scene from Terminator 2.

Uma Thurman

There are few characters in cinema, male or female, more lethal than Beatrix Kiddo aka The Bride from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series. Uma Thurman was cast in the role and aside from reinforcing the fact that she can wield a sword like a pro, her take on The Bride built on her already impressive career as an actress that included her famous role Pulp Fiction.

Even Wrekonize knows what’s up:

Betty White

You’re probably thinking, “Wait…what?”, but give us a second to explain. At 90 years old, Betty White is not only still acting, but she is experiencing one of the biggest comebacks in Hollywood. Fans love her so much that in 2010, a Facebook campaign managed to get Betty White hosting duties over an episode of Saturday Night Live.

Since then, she has been everywhere in the media and with her ability to not only laugh at herself, but remain relevant in 2012, she is the biggest badass of them all.

Think you know who the biggest badass of them all is? Let us know by casting your vote below!